He had a reputation of being disciplined and sold out. She was considered to be the quintessential model of a Christian woman. Now they make money, spend money, go places but there doesn’t seem to be any visible impact for God. Where they once invested in and influenced hundreds of young people, they now only invest in their life. What happened?

He stopped studying his Bible, stopped praying and started getting critical of everyone else. It seemed that if he admitted that anyone else was right that he would then have to admit that he was wrong. His stability and discipline faltered. He backed out of leadership because he couldn’t follow a new leader and welcome a new method.

She, claiming submission to him, began to disconnect from leading, serving, and fellowshipping with the ladies. She began to say things like “We no longer felt like we fit in” or, “We aren’t needed anymore” or, “I woke up this morning and realized that I don’t even know if we are supposed to be here anymore.” What happened?

I had the opportunity last year to spend some time with the incredible ministry coaches at the Blessing Ranch in Colorado. As with any great coaching or training event, I learned some new things about me. One of the most obvious (to apparently everyone but me!) was that I need an end to my day.

I manage a wonderful staff and cadre of volunteers and much of my leadership, management, and mentorship needs to fall outside of their work days. So my day was beginning about 6 am and typically ends with the final phone calls around 9 or 10 pm.

Sometimes, I cheat on my diet. My cheats aren’t sugar because that would result in an almost immediate illness. My cheats are little — a potato here, some white bread there, a little bit of fried food. However, I have found that over time these little cheats pile up and affect me just like a big cheat. But the battle goes on. It just seems more fun to eat fries than salad even though I woud be full at the end both meals. It’s like some primeval part of me  rebels against the phrase “you can’t have it.”

You who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ